amated
into one large corporation, the Western Union Telegraph Company of
to-day. With the Morse, Hughes, and other apparatus in its power, the
editors were again left in the lurch.

In 1857, Professor Hughes leaving his instrument in the hands of
the Western Union Telegraph Company, came to England to effect its
introduction here. He endeavoured to get the old Electric Telegraph
Company to adopt it, but after two years of indecision on their part,
he went over to France in 1860, where he met with a more encouraging
reception. The French Government Telegraph Administration became at
once interested in the new receiver, and a commission of eminent
electricians, consisting of Du Moncel, Blavier, Froment, Gaugain, and
other practical and theoretical specialists, was appointed to decide on
its merits. The first trial of the type-printer took place on the Paris
to Lyons circuit, and there is a little anecdote connected with it which
is worthy of being told. The instrument was started, and for a while
worked as well as could be desired; but suddenly it came to a stop, and
to the utter discomfiture of the inventor he could neither find out
what was wrong nor get the printer to go again. In the midst of his
confusion, it seemed like satire to him to hear the commissioners
say, as they smiled all round, and bowed themselves gracefully off,
'TRES-BIEN, MONSIEUR HUGHES--TRES-BIEN, JE VOUS FELICITE.' But the
matter was explained next morning, when Professor Hughes learned that
the transmitting clerk at Lyons had been purposely instructed to earth
the line at the time in question, to test whether there was no deception
in the trial, a proceeding which would have seemed strange, had not the
occurrence of a sham trial some months previous rendered it a prudent
course. The result of this trial was that the French Government agreed
to give the printer a year of practical work on the French lines, and
if found satisfactory, it was to be finally adopted. Daily reports were
furnished of its behaviour during that time, and at the expiration
of the term it was adopted, and Professor Hughes was constituted by
Napoleon III. a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour.

The patronage of France paved the way of the type-printer into almost
all other European countries; and the French agreement as to its use
became the model of those made by the other nations. On settling with
France in 1862, Professor Hughes went to Italy. Here a commission was
likewi